Being a breeder is “not for the faint of heart”
These fascinating 1,000-pound raptors captivate us with their beauty, their strength and their ability to connect with people on such an intimate, quiet level
I remember that sunset evening very well. I was blazing trail back home on my fiery red Morgan mare, Maddie. Two girls just living high on life, and it dawned on me, out of nowhere, that I was not going to be able to live without this quality of horse in my life, in my future. I had ridden many different builds and breeds of horses and there is just nothing that can compare to riding a Morgan. Their rich history dates back to 1789 in Massachusetts, where the famous little Justin Morgan horse out-pulled horses twice his size and was literally unrivalled in endurance.
Word spread fast and three distinct bloodlines of Morgans were developed, mainly being used for cavalry mounts for the government—the perfect carriage horse for taking your family to town, as well as working cattle ranches. These horses are muscular, compact and had the drive and work ethic of a border collie: extremely hardy in the harshest of environments, excellent foragers with very tough feet, and unmatched in their determination to do a job. There is no mistaking a ride on a Morgan, as they have a determination and drive in their walk that says We are going to war, and at Mach 10. I knew at that moment that I wanted to make sure Maddie’s bloodlines were preserved. And this began a new adventure of thousands of hours of research on how I was going to carry out this journey.
Fast-forward 10 years and I found myself sitting on my recliner on a rainy July morning before work, awaiting foal #3, after four nights of barely any sleep—coffee in hand. Being a breeder is not for the faint of heart. Being around horses, in general, is hazardous at best. No matter how well-trained, horses are reactive to their surroundings and are flight animals and we happen to be in the way of that flight path sometimes. When we add our agendas and mix in unknown variables, whether it be in nature or around humans, your “dragon” can get very animated and resort back to speaking their own language (and could destroy everything in their path in a 50-foot circumference).
Now, add a stallion into your docile little herd of horses and the hormones start flying and so do the mares that remind you of high-school drama. You want to find weak spots in your fence, or how high a horse can jump? Or which horses can undo a carabiner on a gate chain? Just add a little dash of stallion to your concoction. The girls run the herd and they know what they want. The “mare stare” is oogly—ears pinned—and in the high-pitched squeals you can almost make out the name Bitch! as another mare takes her feeding spot, her place in the barn or, heaven forbid, didn’t look at the alpha mare the right way. I thought I left high school behind, but here I am, in my early 40s, reliving my nightmare.
But yet, these fascinating 1,000-pound raptors captivate us with their beauty, their strength and their ability to connect with people on such an intimate, quiet level. Hence why I risk my life every day, busting my body to care for them while I anxiously await my third “baby dragon” any day. The journey of breeding, waiting, and waiting some more for a foal to be born, is agonizing to say the least.
First is timing her cycles so you know exactly when to allow the stallion in with her, and if you get it wrong, mare and stallion could be severely injured. We don’t have a large animal vet in the Yukon that will come to my aid, and not only are these horses a huge investment of time and money, they are part of my family. I don’t take this labour of love lightly.
Then the guessing game of Is she pregnant? If she’s not, I have to wait a whole year. I have found out the hard way that any paid vet service—via ultrasound, palpation (feeling inside) and urine sample—can be wrong. Infections can happen, and the worst (which I experienced), the loss of twins (a high percentage with horses). After 11 months of carefully keeping their diet and weight intact and ensuring no injury from other horses, you might have your answer as to whether there is a pregnancy in month nine or 10, when they start showing. You spend upwards of 100 hours guessing if they are pregnant or just fat. By month 10, depending on the horse’s build, you should have the answer.
Now preparations start: separating members of the herd for safety, removing obstructions that could hurt mom or curious baby. Ample food and supplements, updating your foaling emergency kit, monitoring mom’s vitals. The sky is the limit of how focused you can get when it comes to trying to control the outcome.
To be continued in Part 2 of 3
